Tag: Concern

Are You Ready To Go?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Evangelism, Evangelize, Needs, Praise, Readiness, Ready, Ready to Go, Recognize God, State of Readiness, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2021-09-21
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 17:26-27
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 26 “When I return the world will be as indifferent to the things of God as the people were in Noah’s day. 27 They ate and drank and married—everything just as usual right up to the day when Noah went into the ark and the Flood came and destroyed them all.

APPLICATION: For those who strive to evangelize the lost and guide them into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you will find yourselves much like the disciples, in that you will encourage the lost to accept Jesus today, as He could return anytime after the very moment that you share the Good News. But even in Bible stories, we read about the excuses that people quickly came up with when they are asked to accept the Lord, so I’m sure that the excuses will flow rapidly from the mouths of those that we set out to encourage. For the disciple’er I would suggest that you think back to the days when you tried to encourage your spouse to marry you. Although they may have initially had some doubt, you went through a long courtship to try and convince them that you two belonged together. So let me encourage you to do a little courting of your closest family members, or your dearest friends, so that you may gain their confidence to believe the urgency of the message you want to share with them. Also, let’s remember that Jesus warned His disciples, and us, about the uncertainty of the day and the hour, so getting the message out today could make the difference between eternal life, or eternity and damnation in Hell for that dear person. To the one who might be reading this and you have chosen to ‘wait and see’, I believe that there has never been a time in our history where we are reminded daily how death is knocking on the door of our family and friends almost daily, and without regard to age, gender, health condition, or anything else. Please realize dear friends that your time could be next. Please be ready for the day that Jesus comes back, even if it’s today. Just as airport officials only admit passenger who are ready to travel when the flight departs, so will Jesus have a similar decision when He returns to take us home. Are you ready to go?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: For those who are ready to go, Jesus can come today, tomorrow or anytime and you will be ready to join with the rest of His chosen children to accompany Him into heaven! No greater joy!

PRAYER: Lord, Your warning is clear, and for many we are ready to join with You and the angels in Heaven when You come to take us home. The urgency is also clear for our unsaved loved ones, so in all humility I ask that You bestow upon all Christians the importance of showing how much they care about loved ones, by showing them the only way to Heaven. Lord, with urgency evident to both the evangelist and the hearer, may we be busy about our Father’s work. We may say that we love and care about our family and friends, but may that be apparent by us showing them the way to Heaven. Please forgive us when we fail, or when we are timid, but Lord we depend on Your wisdom and Your strength to guide us every day. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Your Level of Concern For Unsaved Loved Ones

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Salvation, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-03-06
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Romans 9:1-3
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: I am in Christ and I am telling you the truth. I am not lying. And my conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, agrees that what I say now is true. 2 I have great sorrow and always feel much sadness 3 for my own people. They are my brothers and sisters, my earthly family. I wish I could help them. I would even have a curse on me and cut myself off from Christ if that would help them.

OBSERVATION: Less we become complacent about the eternal destination of our loved ones, I believe that we should be willing to publicly share how concerned we are about them and their long-term prospects. I believe there are some sure-tell ways that we could show we care, show that we are concerned and even set an example for them to follow. Paul stated his, now as we meditate, let us open our hearts before God on this matter.

APPLICATION: I believe that one of the things we see with Facebook, or perhaps other similar social media, is that many people feel free to express their personal views about a situation, and sometimes about an individual. Some examples: a mom might say to a son or daughter ‘I love you to the moon and back’; a husband might say to a wife ‘life would be meaningless without you’; a friend might share ‘we are like two peas in a pod and one would not survive without the other’! Of course, there are a many other sayings that we read on social media, but as we meditate on Paul’s words in our Scripture today, I wonder how many Christians would be willing to say to a loved one: I love you so much that I have decided to fast all morning meals and use that time to pray for you to recognize the great ‘I Am’ – my Savior and my Lord, and I will maintain this stance until I hear of your change of heart; or – Life would be meaningless without you here on earth, and I’m afraid that I might feel the same way in heaven, so I am praying that you will be prompted by God to receive Jesus as Lord real soon; or – We are like two peas in a pod, and I could never imagine life without you – ever, so since we are on two different tracks to eternity, I have made it my most important goal to pray for God’s touch on your life and be drawn to Him through His Son, Jesus. Friends, Paul went further than any of these things that I’ve suggested so far, for he said that he would be willing to call for a curse on himself, if he thought that it would help his friends draw close to God. Perhaps there are some out there who might be as bold as our Brother Paul was, and that’s entirely between you and God, but I believe that the bottom line is that we might reach the stage in our lives where we might be willing to said to God and even to our unsaved relative/friend that there is absolutely nothing more important to me right now than knowing that we will be in the same location throughout eternity. When we reach that stage, we can finally say to our friend, like Paul, that it is my single purpose in life to seek God on your behalf and to plead with Him for His power in your life and to draw you to Himself. In doing so, I want to convince you that there is no greater love than this. Can you do this for your brother, sister, mother, father, spouse or best friend? Are you willing to do this with the help of our great big Father? With His help and direction, we are more than conquerors!

PRAYER: This is a serious sermon to self, more than anyone one else oh Lord, for I find it easier to talk to another friend about the serious need for salvation of another. I find it easier to smooth things over and try to stay on the ‘good side’ of my family and my best friends, and I hate conflict. Precious Lord, please strengthen me to love the people You love, and to show my love in ways that will show them my Savior who loved me enough to die on a cross. My desire is that none will be lost, none will go to Hell and therefore none will be left behind. May Jesus guide all my readers and myself to touch the lives of others today in ways like never before, so that they may see and experience the goodness of our King. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!